Army says rebels flee Zamboanga

STRIKING BACK:The city’s police chief was trying to persuade about 20 rebels to surrender yesterday when the gunmen grabbed him and took him hostage

Reuters, ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines

An elderly woman and a girl, two of the dozens of hostages freed yesterday following an assault by the military on Muslim rebels, are escorted by soldiers to a waiting bus for debriefing at a police camp in Zamboanga, Philippines.

Photo: AFP

Philippine forces freed scores of civilian hostages yesterday as fighting subsided in a port city where hundreds of rogue Muslim guerrillas have been battling for more than a week.

The fighting, in which nearly 100 people have been killed, has highlighted lingering grievances in the Catholic-majority country despite its growing economy and an agreement with the biggest Muslim rebel group that was meant to bring peace.

The guerrillas who stormed into Zamboanga on Monday last week belong to a breakaway faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

They object to a deal aimed at ending 40 years of conflict signed in October last year with the main Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and are trying to derail it.

An army spokesman yesterday said the guerrillas were fleeing from Zamboanga and heading to outlying islands, off the main southern island of Mindanao.

While the army had freed about 200 hostages since late on Monday, the fleeing rebels had taken captive a team of police officers, including the Zamboanga City police chief, police said.

Officials said Senior Superintendent Jose Chiquito Malayo was trying to persuade about 20 rebels to surrender on the outskirts of the city when the gunmen grabbed him and held him at gunpoint.

Philippine Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said efforts were under way to rescue Malayo, but he gave no details and it was not immediately known where the police chief was being held.